Graduation Ceremony v42 script for doujinshi
by umlando
Summary: Mari and Akko have confessed, but only Sugi has figured out what's going on with them. They are going to celebrate their graduation at an amusement park with Tamamin. Who else will find out about Mari and Akko? What will happen with Sugi and Tamamin?


Graduation Ceremony (4.2)

At the graduation ceremony for the hundred or more students in the non-affiliated track, Mari and Akko are sitting together. Tamami is sitting with her otaku friends. Mari's family and Akko's mother are sitting next to each other without ever having met. Just behind the families, Sugi is sitting by herself. She sees Tamami sitting with her friends, then looks away in irritation. "Tamamin's friends…" she mutters. Then she notices Mari's little brother and Mari's parents. Her face softens, and she thinks, "This must be Mari-chin's family. They really do look just like her."

Mari's mother is pointing into the crowd of graduates with a worried look on her face. "Just who is that next to her?" she asks Mari's dad.

Sugi spots Mari in the crowd, with Akko clinging to her arm and emitting sparkles. "Wow!" Sugi thinks. "Not very subtle, is she?"

"Are you sure it's a girl" Mari's father studies his daughter and Akko across the auditorium. "She's been behaving like she has a boyfriend since last year, and we've never even been introduced. Sometimes I wonder about her."

"So Mari still hasn't even introduced Akko to her parents, yet." Sugi closes her eyes and sighs. Then she hears a woman's voice, "Ummm, are you Kumakura-san's parents?"

Sugi opens her eyes suddenly. "Oh, no," she thinks, "what's Akko's mom up to?"

Mrs. Oohashi tells them, "That's my daughter Akko sitting with Mari-chin – Akko talks about her so much. Thank you for letting her help Akko study – she's the real reason Akko will be going to college at all!"

Sugi relaxes back into her chair glamorously. (In the edge of a frame, a very middle-aged looking woman walking by sees Sugi and comments, "she's so young to have a child graduating this year.") Sugi, ignoring the passersby, thinks, "Mari's parents seem okay with this, but I wonder how much Akko's mom really knows…"

"It's just," Akko's mom looks a bit serious, and Sugi opens one eye, "I keep thinking she's in love or something, but she never does anything outside of her circle of friends at school."

"Uh-oh," Sugi thinks. "If they haven't told their own mothers, this would be a very awkward time for everyone to find out. It might…"

Quickly, Sugi types an email message to Akko. "You mother is talking about you and Mari. Do you want me to distract her?" For a moment, she wonders how she got into this, then hits "send."

Mari's mom looks at the girls, then at Akko's mom. "Oohashi-san, Mariko was having trouble making friends before your daughter. Thank you for taking care of her! She's been so happy since they met." Just then, a school official announces the ceremony is starting, and everyone quiets down and turns to watch the ceremony. Akko is the only one not looking at the podium, because she's trying to pull her ringing cell phone out of her bag.

Sugi settles into her seat, where she has just the right angle to see Mari and Akko holding hands in the mostly hidden space between their chairs. She sees Mari's huge smile as she turns toward Akko, and says softly, "Well, that looks like love, so in a way, I guess I envy them."

From where the otakus are sitting, a loud sneeze can be heard. Akko turns to Mari, "That sneeze sounded familiar."

After the ceremony, Akko's mom has to go back to work, and she mails Akko that she has to leave, waiting a moment when Akko looks up, and waving at her daughter, a sad and hopeful expression on her face.

Sugi sees Tamami separate herself from her otaku friends and come to join them just as Mari and Akko reach Mari's parents. Mari has Akko by the elbow and introduces her to her parents, still beaming.

"Oh, Oohashi-san, we just met your mother!" Mari's mom says after they are introduced. Akko's face stiffens. "Did she send you a phone message before leaving? I think she's really clever! And so stylish! Sometimes I wish I could be like that, too." Her voice trails off. Mari's dad is looking at Akko a little nervously.

Akko – trying to be perfectly polite – tells Mrs. Kumakura that she's sorry to always take up Mari's time (she forgets, and calls her "Mari" to her mother).

Sugi sees Mari reaching for Akko's hand as they're talking to Mari's parents, and just than Tamami shows up, so she grabs Tamami by the elbow, whispers "where were you?" to her, and drags her over to the Kumakuras and Akko. "Pardon the intrusion! Akko, Mari-chin, aren't you ready to go?"

"Go?" asks Mari's father. "Do you have plans? I was kind of hoping…"

"Oh, sorry, dad! I told mom about going to the amusement park with my friends" She introduces Sugi and Tamami. Sugi is holding Tamami from behind by the upper arms, the way a mother might introduce her own child. Mari's mother looks at her and Tamami, then starts to ask Sugi, a question, but Mari's dad stammers a question first.

"J- just the four of you?"

Mari was reaching for Akko's hand again, but stopped to smile and answer her dad. "Yep, just us friends! And thanks for coming to see the ceremony!"

As the three other girls leave, Akko pauses for a moment, then bows to Mari's parents. "It was really nice to meet you!" Sugi sees this happening, and thinks "That idiot! I hope Mari's parents didn't notice she was blushing."

When they reach the smallish amusement park, the sun is about to set. Tamami surveys the scene when they get there, and Sugi notices Mari and Akko walking slowly side by side so that they can hold hands less obviously.

"Those two," Sugi sighs. "This could be really hard for them."

Turning to Tamami, she asks, "Are you disappointed we're not meeting any guys?"

"Only a little," Tamami smiles. "I mean, you don't like the kind of guys I hang out with, anyway. And I hardly see you these days."

Sugi chuckles. "Well, I'm happy it's just us. If there were guys here…" and she sidles up to Tamami, her hand hidden behind a fashionably large bag, "they'd be doing this all the time!"

"Waaaaaah!" Tamami screams, waving her arms in the air. "Sugi-san's a pervert!" Akko and Mari stop walking and laugh at Tamami's antics. Sugi, however, gets a frozen smile on her face. She thinks, "Would she complain if it was some otaku boy doing that?"

Just then, Akko sees the Ferris wheel, looks at Mari very hopefully, grabbing her hand, and says, "Mari! I want to go on the Ferris wheel with you!"

Mari looks torn. "Akko, I… I don't like high places, I…"

Sugi, her confidence back, steps in. "Have you ever ridden a Ferris wheel before?" She's thinking, "This might be perfect for them!" but she says, "Don't worry, it's a really slow ride, and you can get a great view!"

Just as Mari is looking like she might go, Tamami grabs Sugi's hand and shouts to Akko and Mari, "Come one! We'll race you two there!"

[chibi-style panel: Tamami running and pulling Sugi, then behind them, Akko running and pulling Mari]

The line is busy, and as the shadows of the sunset turn to twilight, the parks' lights turn on. Sugi sees a sign under one of the lights. "Four riders to a car, please."

Right when they're in the front of the line, Sugi, whispers to Mari, "You two go ahead. I'll take care of Tamamin!" She pretends to hurt her foot, leaning on Tamami and asking her to help. Then the attendant opens the door for the ride, and only Mari and Akko can go in. Akko gets the ditzy look on her face again – "But wait, shouldn't we…" and Mari yanks on her hand to get her into the carriage. [Score!]

Tamami helps Sugi over to a nearby bench slightly away from the crowd, looking worried and fussing over Sugi. "Oh, poor thing," she fusses. When she sits down next to Sugi, they look up at the Ferris wheel and Tamami points to their carriage and shouts "Oh! There they are! Heeey! Akkoooo! Maaariiii-chin!" Then to an embarrassed Sugi, she says, "Oh, I hope they don't mind riding without us!"

Sugi looks at Tamami, sighs, and says, "Honestly, Tamamin, even with all your smutty mangas, can't you see…?" But then she sees Tamami's bulging book bag next to her feet on the ground.

"Tamamin! What is in that bag of yours? Have you been carrying around manga all day?"

Tamami nods happily, licking her lips. "I just knew I'd need something to read today! I only read half of these during the ceremony." Her face gets serious. "Are you okay just sitting here? There's a good light, and I can read a little bit while we wait for Mari and Akko."

Sugi looks at Tamami and shakes her head, not for the first or the last time. She leans over and pulls a long scarf from her bag. "Tamamin, did you even remember to bring a scarf? It's starting to cool off, you know!"

Tamami looks up, dumbfounded, and Sugi wraps one end of the scarf around Tamami, and the other around herself, looking kind of smug.

Sugi settles in, Tamami leaning happily against her and reading mangas. Then a sudden gust of wind blows open the flap of Tamami's bag, and her mangas start to spill out everywhere.

Looking at the ground where a few of them fell, Sugi thinks, "She's really into bishounen guys, isn't she?"

Then Tamami cries out, "My books!" and jumps up. Despite her smaller stature, with the scarf wrapped around both their necks, Tamami is able to make Sugi fall off the bench. [Close-ups of her knee and her fingernail hitting the pavement.]

"That idiot!" Sugi thinks, wincing as she looks her hand.

But Tamami, still wrapped in the same scarf as Sugi, is now kneeling at her side, "Oh, Sugi-san! I'm so sorry! Did you get hurt again?"

Unwrapping the scarf from herself, she sets her jaw and helps Sugi up, supporting her with Sugi's arm across her shoulder. "I'm taking you to the infirmary!"

Sugi's expression changes from painful to flattered. "But what about your manga, Tamamin? Surely you should…"

But Tamami cuts her off. "Suuugiiii! Forget that! You're hurt, and I'm going to take care of you!" As they hobble off, looking for the infirmary, Sugi pictures Tamami in a nurse costume with a huge needle.

-----

As the operator closes the door behind Mari and Akko, they end up sitting on opposite sides of the carriage. Mari starts to move over to Akko's side, but sees Akko looking out the window, and sits back down.

Looking out the window, Akko says, "I can't see them! Where are Sugi and Tamamin?"

"Akko, I-" begins Mari, but she stops, looking down at her shoes as if she were about to cry.

"Ah! There they are!" Akko starts to wave. She thinks, "Jeez, what am I doing? I wanted Mari all to myself, and now that we're here…"

Then Mari and Akko hear a voice shouting, "Heeey! Akkoooo! Maaariiii-chin!" They both look out and see the dim outlines of Tamami waving and Sugi looking annoyed, below them in the shade of some trees. Akko has to shield her eyes to look closely because of the angle of the setting sun.

As the Ferris wheel creeps upward, silence settles over the carriage. Akko looks at Mari, but Mari is avoiding her eyes. Akko thinks, "What is it with her today? I thought she was happy to be with me! Ah, and I really wanted to tell our parents today!"

"Mari!" Akko gets a serious look on her face. "When are we going to tell everyone about us?"

Mari looks at Akko, somewhat panicky. "Waaahhh, Akko – you know I can't tell my parents! They think the person I'm seeing is some boy!" She looks down at her hands in her lap. "I don't know what to do about our friends. Do you think-?"

"I think Sugi-san already knows."

"Akko! How could she not know? You've been holding my hand every time we're with her and Tamamin!" Tears form in Mari's eyes.

"But Tamamin, Kuno, and Taguchi haven't figured it out…" Akko looks thoughtfully out the side of the Ferris wheel carriage. The sky is getting dark, and dramatic shadows are cast on the ceiling of their carriage. The two girls are quiet, and the sounds of music and laughter drift up to them from the amusement park below.

"And your mom, Akko?" Mari still looks worried.

Akko looks away, thinking, "I guess I haven't really told anyone buy Sugi's friend, anyway." She gets up and moves across to sit beside Mari, grasping Mari's hands in hers. She thinks to herself, "Well, this is sort of a cop-out…," saying to Mari, "At college next year, everyone will know!"

Mari blushes. "Akko, about that…"

"I'm so happy you helped me get good grades this year, Mari! Ugh! If you hadn't, I don't know what I'd do! I'd never be able to see you, never mind share an apartment! I don't care if it's only a single, six-tatami room!"

"Of course," she thinks, "where will I put my clothes?"

Mari looks Akko's expression close to hers and giggles. "You're thinking about silly things again, aren't you?"

Akko looks at Mari and thinks, "She's so cute. I can't let this chance go by!" She leans toward Mari, who leans back until she bumps her head lightly on the carriage wall behind the seat.

"Is this silly? Admit it, Mari! Haven't you wanted to get me alone to do things?"

Mari blushes almost purple and lets out a small sound.

"Say it louder, Mari." Akko sits and holds Mari's hands in hers, staring into her eyes.

"Yes."

Akko's reaction – jumping up and down in the carriage, makes it shake and wobble. People on the walkway below are confused by the sounds far overhead.

"Akko! Sit down!" Mari grabs her, and Akko squirms to plant herself on Mari's lap, facing her. She pushes Mari back and, before Mari can even take a full breath, covers, then parts, Mari's lips with her own.

Akko thinks back to their first kiss, and how shocked she was. "Recently, I've been the pushy one, and it feels like Mari is pulling back, but not today!"

Akko feels Mari's hands groping at her sleeves, then her shoulders, pulling her closer.

A minute later, Mari turns her head and gasps for breath. Their carriage is lower now, and other people could see them, so Akko whispers to Mari, "Careful! We don't want to scare anyone!" Mari giggles again, and the two sit, holding hands as the carriage finishes its descent.

At the bottom, the attendant opens the door for them, and Akko and Mari hold hands, racing off to look for their friends.

A few minutes later, Akko is panting and leaning on a lamppost. Mari is standing next to her, a fond look on her face. "Akko is just like that – even if she can't really run, she'll try for her friends!"

-----

[PI-RI-RI-RI-RI-RI-RIN]

With Sugi's arm draped across her shoulders, Tamami stops and reaches around Sugi to pull the taller girl's cell phone from her purse.

"Tamamin! What are you doing?" Sugi demands.

"Your phone, silly! It's ringing – and I thought it might be important, but your hand is hurt, so I…" Tamami, her neck under Sugi's arm, is looking up and smiling at Sugi over the curve of the taller girl's breast.

Sugi looks at her and thinks, "Is she looking at my face or my chest?" She says, "That's silly, Tamamin! Let it go! It's probably that guy I've been trying to get rid of, anyway." (She mumbles to herself, "What a pain!")

Tamami smiles again. "Okay, if you like," and the two go back to walking. Sugi winces quietly with every second step. Glancing down, she sees Tamami staring happily up at her. Her heart skips a beat and she looks away, thinking, "Ehhh? What is this feeling?"

Sugi limps for a few more meters, then stops. Other people strolling around the amusement park walk around them, grumbling at the inconvenience.

Tamami looks up at her. "What's wrong, Sugi-san? Can you make it?"

Sugi's eyes well up a little, and she looks away, thinking, "I can't let her see me like this."

She says, "Really, Tamamin! I shouldn't be so surprised at you – you never think! I'm sure your bag at least was worth bringing along! Why don't you leave me here and run back to get it?"

The first sob from Tamami takes Sugi by surprise. She turns her head in time to see Tamami's expression crumble from shock into despair. Sugi's disdainful look changes to concern.

Now it is Sugi's turn to help Tamami. Ignoring the pain in her knee and the broken nail, Sugi takes Tamami by the shoulders and steers her to the edge of the path, where they sit on a curb together, Tamami sobbing into Sugi's shoulder, her hands half-hiding her face.

Sugi silently holds Tamami, staring into the distance, her legs bent and knees together to frustrate the wandering eyes of male passers-by. Tamami sits like a child, legs splayed, but Sugi places her purse in front to give her some small measure of privacy. ("Perverts!" Sugi thinks, glaring at a few young men she catches trying to look up hers and Tamami's skirts.)

Tamami blinks and wipes a tear from her eye, then sits up, no longer leaning on Sugi.

"I'm sorry, Sugi-san. I don't know why I felt like crying. It's just…" she sighs, "How do I put this? The bag, the manga, it's just for fun. But you're…"

"What," Sugi smiles down at Tamami. "I'm no fun?"

"That's not what I mean," Tamami smiles back, her hair disheveled and face still wet with tears. "I just mean that, with the costumes and the mangas, I'm just playing. With you, I'm not."

In the long silence, Sugi looks away and sighs wearily. "Why can't I look her in the eye like I used to? This is getting bothersome."

Tamami reaches out and placed her hand lightly on Sugi's shoulder. "Hey, you don't have to answer now," she says in a soft voice.

Sugi raises her eyebrows. Her thoughts are in turmoil. "Answer? Was that her confession? Ugh! This is just what I worried about…"

Tamami stands and says, "Let's get you to the infirmary. After all…" Tamami pauses while helping Sugi to her feet, "I didn't sacrifice all those manga for nothing!"

[Chibi-style Sugi face in the margin: "What is she thinking about?" Chibi Tamami face next to her: "Ehehe!"]

Walking slowly with her arm resting on Tamami's shoulder, Sugi wonders, "What am I going to do? I won't let Tamamin get hurt, but…what, then?"

Following a sign, they turn a corner and nearly run into a scowling young man wearing the khaki uniform of the amusement park personnel. Tamami and Sugi see with shock that he is locking the door of the infirmary, and straightening out a sign in the window that read "This first aid station is closed 21:30. Please see our staff at the entrance for assistance with any problems."

"Excuse me," he mumbles at them, almost shouldering past Tamami to leave.

"Hey! Wait!" Tamami shouts, turning to face the man while still supporting Sugi.

"It's okay, Tamamin," Sugi says softly.

The man paused, and Tamami ignores Sugi, raising her voice, "My friend needs help. Can't you at least let us in? I'll take care of her myself!"

This seems to have an effect, and, looking at them each briefly, the man grumbles, "It IS my dinner break, but okay, I'll let you in. If anyone else comes just keep the door locked and tell them I'll be back when the sign says." He smiles briefly at Tamami, but she is too busy holding onto Sugi to notice.

The park employee unlocks and opens the door, turns on a light, and then shows Sugi and Tamami to the first of a row of small beds along one wall.

"All the supplies you need are in there," he says, pointing to a closet at the back of the room. And without another word, he leaves, locking the door behind him.

-----

"This way, Mari!" Akko, holding onto Mari's hand, pulls her through the crowds and the gathering darkness toward the entrance. "The first aid station is closed after dark. I'm sure Tamamin took Sugi-san to the entrance booth."

"Akko, you're always thinking of your friends, aren't you?"

Akko stops and turns toward Mari. "Ehhh? Sorry, I promise we'll come back, just the two of us next time!"

Mari giggles behind her hand. Then she grab's Akko's hand and starts to lead her through the crowd toward the entrance.

"Silly! I wasn't mad, just…" Mari's smile fades. "I was just thinking about our first date!"

Mari smiles, pulling a blushing Akko behind her, but Akko slows down and stops walking.

"Th- that," Akko pauses, then continues softly so that only Mari will hear. "That had nothing to do with friends…"

"She does get it, right?" Akko worries to herself.

"Yeah, I know now, Akko. It took me too long to figure it all out, though," Mari says over her shoulder. "I'm so glad we had a chance to become friends first, though! I mean, even though I couldn't figure it all out for a long time, at least I always had you."

Akko is about to speak, but Mari pulls harder on her hand, and the two run to the main entrance to the park. Mari asks at a ticket booth where the first aid station is, and the attendant, a pretty, middle-aged woman in a khaki uniform, points them a short distance away. As Mari and Akko follow her directions, she notices the two girls are holding hands. She blushes, covering her mouth, thinking "Eeehhhhhh?" A moment later, hand still over her mouth, and face still blushing, she thinks, "Actually, they're kind of cute together."

When they get to the first aid station, a low building with two windows and a door in front, and trees on either side, they find it closed, and the lights out. They knock, and after a few minutes, someone comes out and asks if they need assistance.

"No, it's not for us," Mari answers. "It's our friends. One got hurt right as we were boarding the Ferris wheel, and the other stayed to help her, only we don't know where they went, and their phones appear to be off now."

Another person calls out from a back room of the first aid station, "Were they a senior and a junior high school girl? The senior really tall and pretty?"

"Y- yeah! That would be Sugi-san," Akko calls back.

"Ah, that's what the short one called her, all right," answers the voice. "Hey, Makoto, can you point them the way? I have a little of my break left…."

The man who answered the door looks confused, then angry. He calls back to his hidden colleague, "You mean they're in there by themselves?" He grimaces and starts to pull at his hair.

Akko looks startled, and thinks "They're by themselves in a locked room? But Sugi isn't…"

"Um," she says. "Our friend is actually pretty good with first aid stuff, so you shouldn't worry about them!"

"Well, if you're going that way," the anxious man says, relaxing a little, "just please tell them to get out before the park closes at midnight."

"Okay," Akko says cheerfully, grabs Mari's hand and heads back toward the middle of the park.

In a few minutes, they are outside the infirmary, shielded from the nearby path by a hedge. They see a light from the window above the door, and Akko is about to knock, but Mari grabs her hand and signals her to be quiet.

They both listen as a conversation inside gets loud and angry. Akko is staring, open-mouthed at the open window over the door, and Mari is grimacing, her eyes watery and half-closed. as it becomes clear that their friends are arguing. She reaches for Akko's hand, but doesn't find it.

Then Akko is holding her, stroking her hair, and whispering in her ear, "It's all right, Mari. They have to figure this out for themselves…"

Mari sobs. "Poor Tamamin! Poor Sugi-san!"

Akko brushes a tear from Mari's cheek and kisses where it left a track. Suddenly, Mari grabs Akko's arms and pulls her close, pressing her lips to Akko's briefly, then sighing, whispering into Akko's ear, "I've had enough of not knowing."

She presses Akko's palm over her heart and looks into her girlfriend's eyes. "Can you feel that? I've been like that for over a year, Akko! Even," and she pauses, looking down, "even when you finally kissed me, I just couldn't believe…"

Smiling and teary-eyed, Akko teases, "Stupid Mari! Just because I interrupted your confession by kissing you, you didn't think it meant anything to me! Couldn't you tell just by how it felt?"

Mari blushes. "It felt incredible, but that was the first time anyone kissed me, so…"

Akko's face freezes, then turns to shock. "Ehhhh? That was… But you said… But after the fireworks festival…" She's picturing Akko in a yukata outside the convenience store, and remembering "With this, I'm just like Akko!"

Mari's eyes widen and she blurts out, "That was, I mean, I just…"

Akko starts to laugh, draping her arms over Mari's shoulders and then hugging her close, laughing.

"What did you do when Harada tried to make a move on you? Haha! No wonder he looked so scared of you that day you two broke up!"

"But Akko," Mari says, pulling Akko off her, "that doesn't make me just like you, then, does it?" Her eyes are serious, and Akko looks worried for a moment.

"Oh, no!" Akko thinks, "I have to tell her about Kuno's boyfriend.

"Hmm, how shall I put this," she stalls. Looking at Mari's nervous expression, Akko lets her shoulders sag, and she frowns.

"I went to one of Sugi's mixers, and Kuno's boyfriend – before he met her – was there, too. He and I both drank some Kahlua milk, and somehow he got me to go to a love hotel. I woke up naked…"

Mari's face is in shock.

Akko waves her hands side to side and shakes her head. "No! Nothing happened! It's just… it's sort of embarrassing, and I promised…" She looks at Mari's face again, and thinks, "What the hell does that promise count, now?"

In a small voice, she continues, "He, um, it didn't, you know…"

Mari looks confused.

"He couldn't get aroused!" Akko stage whispers, blushing furiously.

Mari collapses back against the door, sinking to a crouch, trying and failing – with both hands over her mouth ­– to keep her shrieks of laughter from echoing around the amusement park.

Akko crouches down, too, her half-visible face a mix of emotions.

"You're so cute, Akko!" Mari says through a huge smile. "Now we really are pretty much the same, except Harada got slapped for even trying to kiss me!"

Akko gets a determined look on her face and lifts Mari to a standing position by her elbows, then pins her against the door, kissing her neck and ears, her hands racing to caress Mari's face, and finally, with Mari panting, her hands raised in a pointless defense, Akko takes a deep breath and slowly, firmly presses her lips against Mari's, each pulling the other as close as she can.

-----

Sugi sits on the bed, watching Tamami root through the closet and emerge with an armload of medical supplies. She leaves a trail of items plopping and clattering to the floor as she tottered over to Sugi, smiling.

Stifling a small laugh, her hand half-covering her mouth, Sugi lies back on the bed and watches as Tamami deposits the armload of supplies on the small bedside table. "Don't you think that's a bit much, Tamamin?"

Then she sits part-way up, leaning on her elbows, and says, "Hey, Tamamin, I'll be okay in here. Why don't you go back and get your bag?"

Ignoring her, Tamami bends over Sugi's injured foot and quickly turns to rummage through the pile of supplies on the small table.

"Seriously, Tamamin? What if somebody takes all your stuff?"

Tamami spins to face Sugi. "Who cares about that?" she yells, a bottle of antiseptic in one hand and two small bandages in the other.

"Why are you always trying to get rid of me?" Tamami wails, her voice cracking at the highest notes.

"Oh, no!" thinks Sugi. "What am I going to do?"

"Tamamin, I didn't mean-" Sugi soothes.

"You never mean anything, do you?" Tamami shouts, her hands at her sides. She wipes her tears with the back of her hand and takes a deep, shuddering breath.

"Now lie back down and keep quiet. I'm gonna take care of you!"

Sugi does as she is told, but raises her head to watch as Tamami, her face contorted with determination, examines Sugi's leg and begins to apply the antiseptic and the bandage.

"Wow, she's really serious," thinks Sugi.

"Um, Tamamin. You really know what you're doing, don't you?"

"You never listen, Sugi-san," Tamami replies harshly, without looking at her friend. "You're always telling me about your boyfriends, but you don't know the first thing about my life outside of school and hanging out."

"Ouch. She's right," Sugi thought.

"I have an older brother and sister, and they're really into sports and martial arts, so I got used to treating this kind of injury all the time. There!" Tamami stands up, admiring her handiwork. Sugi looks down and sees her knee neatly bandaged.

"Hmm. I've underestimated her," she thinks, lying back and rubbing her forehead with the fingers of her uninjured hand.

"Now let's see that hand of yours," Tamami says, moving toward the head of the bed.

Sugi feels a wave of fatigue come over her. "Tamamin, I-" but just then, something makes the door of the infirmary rattle.

Tamami blushes, holding her hand to her mouth. "I hope nobody heard…" She stands and crosses the room. There's a desk near the door and she uses it to peer out the open window above the door. Through it, she finds herself looking down on Akko's familiar long, straight hair, and Mari's stylish cut, their heads close together. Then Akko takes a breath, and Tamami sees the delirious look on her face, gasps, and shakily climbs down from the desk.

"Mari? Akko? Oh…" She turns toward Sugi and says, "Suuugiiii? Mari and Akko are… are…" She looks blankly at Sugi, who nods, cautiously.

"How long have you known?" Tamami whispers across the room.

When Sugi doesn't answer, Tamami stomps across the room and stands next to the bed where Sugi is half-reclining, fists planted on her waist, and scowling.

"Satoko!"

Sugi looks up, startled. "Why does she call me that now?"

Tamami leans down and places her hands on Sugi's cheeks. Bending close, she whispers. "Have we been drinking, Satoko?"

Confused and mesmerized, Sugi answers back "No, Tamamin."

"Then," the short, angry girl demands, "what does this mean to you?" And, turning her head slightly, she presses her lips into Sugi's. They both close their eyes.

[drip…drip]

Tamami raises her hand to Sugi's cheek and feels a tear. She opens her eyes, leans back, and sighs.

"Is this… Do you always feel this way when we… play around?" Sugi whispers.

Tamami looks away and takes a deep breath before answering. "And you never do?"

Sugi looks down at her hands. "Before I came here, I felt that way, too. And nobody accepted me. That's why I tried to keep Akko from falling in love with Mari-chin."

"You don't have the right!" Tamami stands and folds her arms across her chest, scowling. "The whole time you were pushing your own feelings down, pushing mine aside, you were trying to keep Akko and Mari-chin apart, too! You're terrible!"

Tamami walks toward the door, reaching for the knob, but stops short, remembering Mari and Akko on the other side. She turns to face Sugi, who is still looking at her hands.

"It's funny, don't you think, Satoko?"

Sugi look up, tears on her cheeks.

"It didn't work. Mari-chin and Akko are happy, and you know how I feel about you." She walks slowly toward Sugi, stopping just in front of her, hands on her hips. "The only question left is how you feel about me – not about girls, but about [I]me[/I]."

"I- I don't-." Sugi stammers.

Tamami turns away and looks down, her lip trembling.

"I don't think I can be happy without you, Tamamin."

The trembling spreads from Tamami's lip to her entire body as she grits her teeth and clenches her fists, straining to hold her eyes closed and the tears inside, until Sugi glides to her feet, still wet-faced, and crosses the gulf between them.

Sugi's hand on her shoulder draws Tamami into her arms, shaking with pent-up frustration. Tamami unclenches her fists, lowers her arms and slowly pulls Sugi closer.

It is as if they had never kissed before. Sugi feels Tamami's lips and realizes why she had kept so many boyfriends – none of them made her feel like this. Tamami's long, straight hair falls out of her ponytail, mingling with the waves of Sugi's hair and both of their tears. Sugi sits on the bed beside them, guiding Tamami by the hand to sit next to her.

"Have you always washed your hair with strawberry-scented shampoo?" Sugi caresses Tamami's hair.

Tamami's face reddens.

"No, no! I think it's cute!" Sugi says hurriedly. "I think it's just like you."

They reach for each other's hands, and Tamami looks into Sugi's eyes. "Are you alright with this, with it being real?"

Sugi's smile is unlike any expression Tamami has ever seen on her face before. But before she can speak, there's a knock at the door.

Tamami tenses up, grimacing, and starts to turn toward the door, but Sugi puts her hand on Tamami's shoulder and looks sternly at the smaller Tamami. "You should at least wait for my answer," Sugi half-scolds. And while Tamami is off-guard, Sugi pulls her close and leans toward her to gently brush lips.

Tamami stands up, blushing, and turns away, tears welling in her eyes, her hands clasped together under her chin.

"Sugi-saaaan? Tamamiiiiin?" It's Akko's voice calling softly from outside.

Tamami skips over to the door and opens it with a flourish. Sugi is reclining on the bed, watching, and smiling.

When Akko and Mari enter, she studies their faces, and they recognize something in hers. "Um," Tamami blushes, "I didn't realize… I'm sorry… I feel so stupid…"

Tamami steps forward and hugs both Akko and Mari at the same time, laughing and wiping tears from her eyes.

When she releases them, she takes a breath, and then suddenly perks up, "But Sugi-san…":

Mari talks over Tamami, "Oh! How are you feeling, Sugi-san? You must have been really hurt!"

Sugi pulls herself up to a sitting position and reaches for Tamami, making her sit next to her on the bed. "I'm feeling much better, but a bit sad, too."

Tamami looks shocked, and Mari asks what made Sugi sad.

Resting her forehead on her hands, Sugi admits, "I spend the past few years building up this person I could be, and I don't even know myself anymore! And what's worst of all," she goes, on, tears flowing, "is that I told you, Akko, not to confess to Mari – and I think that you two really needed to say it openly to each other!"

Tamami looks at Sugi with doe eyes.

"And Tamamin," Sugi turns toward her, sitting next to her on the bed, "I never even allowed myself to feel what we feel for each other.. I-" and Sugi's tears overcome her ability to speak. She hangs her head, and Tamami puts her arms around her for comfort.

Mari puts her hand to her mouth in surprise, but Akko is looking slightly stunned.

All eyes are on Sugi, so she sits upright, holding Tamami's shoulders and looking into her eyes, "I'm sorry, Tamamin. I should have tried to understand my own feelings better! From the moment I first laid eyes on you, I felt we had to be together, but I was always playing…" And she kisses Tamami again, gently and slowly.

Akko thinks, "And they haven't even been drinking!" Mari reaches out to her, and the two are about to leave, when Sugi calls out, "Hey, don't let us bother you! Where are you going?"

Mari looks at Sugi, and then at Tamami, and says, "Clearly, Sugi, you don't need us with Tamamin around to take care of you!"

"Besides," Akko begins to pull Mari toward the door, The Ferris wheel is still open!"

As chibi-Akko pulls chibi-Mari out the door, Chibi-Tamami looks at the bedridden chibi-Sugi and giggles, "Ehehe."

[end]


End file.
